Lest We Forget
Sister Mary Mahoney, CSJP (1926-2009)
Good Morning. First of all, on behalf of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, in absentia, I want to extend our deepest condolences to the Mahoney Family. We certainly share their grief and will be all the poorer for Mary’s absence. It needs to be noted that we are clearly indebted to the Mahoney family for sharing the lives of five of their family with us. Sr. Patricia, and Sisters Wilfred and Philip, their aunts, and Sr. Bridget Greene, their cousin. We were indeed blessed by their presence among us.
Sr. Mary was born in Carrigahold, Co. Clare, Ireland, the eldest of seven girls and four brothers. She entered our congregation in Nottingham, England on March 4, 1941 at the age of 15. She wrote about this experience stating that Sacred Heart Convent in wartime England was nothing like the rolling hills of County Down. There they were introduced to gas masks, ration books, air raid sirens and blackouts. Along with ten other Novices, she arrived in New York on May 2, 1946. She tells us that after reaching St. Michael’s, the Boys Band from St. Joseph Home played. They were elated but their elation was brief because they soon learned the serenade was not for the travelers from England, but for Mother Athanasius on her feast day. Mary pronounced her final vows on March 16, 1947 here in St. Michael Villa.
She earned an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts from Englewood Cliffs College. She ministered for 23 years at St. Joseph’s Printing Department in Jersey City where the “Orphans’ Messenger and Advocate of the Blind” was produced. She then went on to St. Joseph School for the Blind as Supervisor of Food Services, Villa Marie Claire,
and St. James Hospital in Newark where she served for 29 years. She retired here to St. Michael Villa in 2007.
She had a subtle sense of humor. She tells the story about herself when she was working on the switchboard at St. James. She said “I answered the call and could hear a woman speaking with someone in the background. This is what she said: ‘Don’t tell me that nun is still working there. She must be older than God!’”
I think we have a lot to learn from the life of this gentle woman. Aside from the documents she needed to enter the congregation, her file contained very little. Through the years she never found the need to add to it. Its sheer emptiness spoke volumes to me.
In the Fall of 2003, Mary wrote an article about herself in St. Joseph’s Messenger which she entitled “A Listening Ear and Heart.” That’s who Mary was. She stated that “from dealing with many people over many years, I’ve learned that regardless of racial differences, language and background, all appreciate a willing and attentive ear, a word of encouragement, and, more especially, a promise of prayers.”
She was someone who moved slowly through life. In a world that is so given to violence, so filled with wars and hatred, it is no small thing to reflect back on the life of a woman who loved those whom she met in her life, and translated that love into the way she cared for them, always with gentleness and kindness. She used well the talents she had for the service of others.
I would like to suggest that we have gathered today to say our goodbye to a great lady.
May God give her a holy rest and peace at last.
Ann Rutan, csjp